Oleg Luzhny: 'World needs to support Ukraine in Russia conflict'

By James Masters, CNN

Updated 10:55 AM ET, Tue March 4, 2014

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos:Oleg Luzhny: Ukraine football hero

The boy from Lviv – Oleg Luzhny enjoyed a successful football career playing for Torpedo Lutsk, SKA Karpaty Lviv, Dynamo Kiev, Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers, while he represented both the USSR and Ukraine at international level before heading into management.

Hide Caption

1 of 6

Photos:Oleg Luzhny: Ukraine football hero

Breaking onto the scene – Luzhny, who played at right-back or in central defense, signed for Dynamo Kiev in 1989 and spent 10 years there. He became club captain and won the USSR league and cup double, as well as seven Ukrainian league titles and four Ukrainian cups.

Hide Caption

2 of 6

Photos:Oleg Luzhny: Ukraine football hero

Full international – Luzhny's form at club level led to an international call-up for the USSR in 1989. He won eight caps, but after the Soviet Union's dissolution, he went on to play for Ukraine on 52 occasions, regularly captaining the nation.

Hide Caption

3 of 6

Photos:Oleg Luzhny: Ukraine football hero

Gunners days – Luzhny soon caught the eye of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who signed him from Dynamo Kiev in 1999. While never managing to hold down a regular first-team spot, he still amassed 110 appearances over four years, winning the English league and cup double as well as a further FA Cup.

Hide Caption

4 of 6

Photos:Oleg Luzhny: Ukraine football hero

Into management – After a short spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Luzhny turned his eyes to coaching, becoming player-manager of Latvian side Venta in 2005. His tenure did not last long, however, with financial problems playing a part in the club's downfall. He officially hung up his playing boots in 2006.

Hide Caption

5 of 6

Photos:Oleg Luzhny: Ukraine football hero

Back to Ukraine – Luzhny returned to his homeland and became assistant manager at Dynamo Kiev, taking the reins as interim manager twice and coming up against Manchester United in the Champions League in 2007. He left in 2010, before taking charge of Ukrainian outfit SC Tavriya Simferopol for a year in 2012.

Hide Caption

6 of 6

Story highlights

Oleg Luzhny played international football for Ukraine

He says people in Ukraine are "scared" and "nervous"

The 45-year-old accuses Russia and President Putin of being aggressive

Former Arsenal defender says whole world must unite behind Ukraine

Amid the rumblings of war between Russia and Ukraine, just how do you go about your everyday life?

With foreboding and fear, according to former Ukraine football international Oleg Luzhny.

"Everyone is scared about war -- they are very nervous," Luzhny, who enjoyed a successful spell in the English Premier League with Arsenal, told CNN.

More than once during our interview, Luzhny seemed desperate to deliver this message: "It is important the whole world supports us."

He was speaking from his mother's home in Kiev, Ukraine, on Monday, after flying there from London, where he lives with his wife and children.

JUST WATCHED

Squeezing Russia economically

MUST WATCH

JUST WATCHED

China reacts to Ukraine crisis

MUST WATCH

China reacts to Ukraine crisis04:46

Luzhny, who was born in in the western city of Lviv, last held a managerial job with Tavriya Simferopol -- a club based in Crimea, an autonomous region of eastern Ukraine with strong loyalty to Russia.

"Here in Kiev, it's OK but in Crimea and places like Donetsk and elsewhere, people are worried. Where there is a large population of Russians, they are scared," he said.

"Everyone is scared about war. They are very nervous. It's scary for the children, for the adults, for everyone.

What he has witnessed on his television screen, and heard while speaking to his friends, has ignited a passion for his country's right to self-determination.

Ukraine has been in chaos since President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted on February 22 following bloody street protests which left many dead and hundreds injured.

A deepening split within Ukraine society has seen those in the western part of the country supporting the interim government and ties with the European Union, while those in the east advocate a Russian presence in Ukraine.

Crimea, where Russia has sent more troops, remains firmly opposed to the new political leadership in Kiev.

Ukraine suspects Russia of fomenting tension in the autonomous region and fears it might escalate into a bid for separation by its Russian majority population.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the country's interim prime minister, accused Moscow of declaring war and insisted his West-leaning government would not give up the Crimean region.

But as words are traded by politicians around tables and via television screens, among the people, trepidation over Ukraine's future only grows.

Moscow has defended its parliament's approval to use military force to protect its citizens in the Crimean Peninsula.

In the U.S., a senior White House official told CNN on Sunday that Russian forces "have complete operational control of the Crimean Peninsula." The official said the U.S. estimates there are 6,000 Russian ground and naval forces in the region.

"There is no question that they are in an occupation position -- flying in reinforcements and settling in," another senior administration official said.

The move by Russia has been met with fear and anger in Ukraine while it has also been condemned by world leaders.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Russian Federation to "refrain from any acts and rhetoric that can further escalate the situation and instead engage constructively and through peaceful means with Ukraine."

Luzhny, who was part of the famous Dynamo Kiev team of the 1990s which included Andrei Shevchenko and Sergei Rebrov, says he enjoyed his time working in Crimea before leaving in June last year.